LendingTree, Inc. $TREE Shares Acquired by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) by 12.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 155,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,775 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 1.14% of LendingTree worth $10,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its stake in LendingTree by 25.2% in the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 281.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 826 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in LendingTree by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 2,212 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in LendingTree in the 2nd quarter valued at $122,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in LendingTree by 61.3% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 3,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 1,261 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.26% of the company’s stock.

LendingTree Price Performance

Shares of TREE opened at $52.35 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $55.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.16. LendingTree, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.50 and a twelve month high of $77.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $715.62 million, a PE ratio of 51.83 and a beta of 2.08.

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.47. LendingTree had a return on equity of 36.30% and a net margin of 1.34%.The business had revenue of $290.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $278.36 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that LendingTree, Inc. will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of LendingTree from $66.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered LendingTree from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of LendingTree in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on LendingTree from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Zacks Research raised LendingTree from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LendingTree currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $74.29.

LendingTree Profile

LendingTree, Inc operates an online marketplace that connects consumers with a network of lenders and financial service providers. Through its platform, borrowers can compare loan offers for mortgages, home equity loans, personal loans, student loans, auto loans and small business financing. The company also offers tools for comparing credit cards and deposit accounts, allowing users to research rates and terms from a range of providers in one place.

Founded in 1996 by Doug Lebda, LendingTree pioneered the comparison-shopping model for consumer credit products.